Holder Doesn’t Know If Anyone Ever Prosecuted Under Born Alive Infant Protection Act (+video)

/2 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Penny StarrAttorney General Eric Holder said Wednesday he did not know whether there has been even one prosecution under the Born Alive Infant Protection Act.

“Have you ever enforced this law even one time?” Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) asked Holder during a House Judiciary Committee hearing after referencing abortionist Kermit Gosnell, who was convicted of three counts of first degree counts murder in the deaths of three babies whose spinal cords were severed after they were born alive.

“I don’t know,” Holder replied.

Franks described how the Born Alive Infant Protection Act, enacted in 2002, “provides that all federal protections … for persons apply to every infant born alive.”

“So will you enforce the Born Alive Infant Protection Act as attorney general, and will you consider carefully what’s happening in clinics across the country like happened in the clinic that Kermit Gosnell ran?” Franks asked.

Holder revealed that not only is he the father of three children, but his wife is an OBGYN, who is “very accomplished in her field,” so he shared “many” of the concerns that Franks had.

Read more from this story HERE.

Syrian Rebels Post Grisly Execution Video

/0 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: YouTubeA gruesome video (warning: graphic content) posted Wednesday shows Syrian rebels in the eastern province of Deir al-Zor invoking sharia law as they sentence soldiers loyal to President Bashar Assad to death. The soldiers, kneeling and blindfolded, are then shot in the back of the head by a rebel whose face is hidden by a black balaclava.

The executioners claim to belong to the al-Nursa Front (Jabhat al-Nusra), a Syrian rebel cell associated with al-Qaeda, Reuters reported Thursday.

With the civil war in Syria between Assad’s forces and myriad insurgent groups entering its third year, and as both sides struggle for the upper hand in media coverage, increasingly unpalatable videos have been surfacing that expose the war at its most brutal.

Read more from this story HERE.

Pope Francis Urges Global Leaders to End ‘Tyranny’ of Money

/3 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Reuters He said free-market capitalism had created a “tyranny” and that human beings were being judged purely by their ability to consume goods.

Money should be made to “serve” people, not to “rule” them, he said, calling for a more ethical financial system and curbs on financial speculation.

Countries should impose more control over their economies and not allow “absolute autonomy”, in order to provide “for the common good”.

The gap between rich and poor was growing and the “joy of life” was diminishing in many developed countries, the Argentinian Pope said, two months after he was elected as the successor to Benedict XVI.

“While the income of a minority is increasing exponentially, that of the majority is crumbling,” said Francis, who as archbishop of Buenos Aires visited slums, opted to live in a modest flat rather than an opulent Church residence and went to work by bus.

Read more from this story HERE.

Obama Breaches Marine Corps Umbrella Protocol (+video)

/12 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Daily CallerThe commander in chief of the American armed forces today forced a violation of Marine Corps regulations, so he wouldn’t get wet.

According to Marine Corps regulation MCO P1020.34F of the Marine Corps Uniform Regulations chapter 3, a male Marine is not allowed to carry an umbrella while in uniform. There is no provision in the Marine Corps uniform regulation guidelines that allows a male Marine to carry an umbrella.

Nevertheless, during a press conference under a light drizzle with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan this morning, President Obama allowed the First Head to be protected from the elements by an umbrella held by a male Marine corporal.

The relevant portion of the regulation reads, “3035. UMBRELLAS (Female Marines). Female Marines may carry an all-black, plain standard or collapsible umbrella at their option during inclement weather with the service and dress uniforms. It will be carried in the left hand so that the hand salute can be properly rendered…

Read more from this story HERE.

Federal Court Slams Obama’s Use of Recess Appointment Power

/4 Comments/in , /by

It’s been a bad week for Barack Obama, and things just got worse. On top of the growing scandals over the I.R.S. targeting conservative groups and the Justice Department snooping on journalists, the president has just received a major constitutional reprimand from the federal courts over his dubious exercise of executive power.

According to the Constitution, the president must seek the “advice and consent” of the Senate when filling certain government positions. The president may only bypass this confirmation requirement in those rare cases where a temporary appointment is needed to “fill up all vacancies that may happen during the recess of the Senate.” This is known as the president’s recess appointment power.

In a decision handed down Thursday morning, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit ruled that Obama violated the Constitution by making a recess appointment to the National Labor Relations Board when the Senate was not actually in recess, but was instead holding pro forma sessions for the precise purpose of denying him the lawful ability to make a recess appointment. In an unprecedented move in January 2012, Obama simply ignored this legal impediment and made four purported recess appointments anyway, including the addition of three members to the NLRB.

In its decision, the 3rd Circuit strongly rejected Obama’s unilateral action. “Nothing in the text of the Clause or the historical record suggests that it is intended to be a type of pressure valve for when the president cannot obtain the Senate‘s consent, whether that be because it has become dysfunctional or because it rejects a president‘s nominations,” the court held. Indeed, the opinion continued, under the government’s interpretation, “If the Senate refused to confirm a president‘s nominees, then the president could circumvent the Senate‘s constitutional role simply by waiting until senators go home for the evening.” So much for the separation of powers.

Read more from this story HERE.

Resigned IRS Chief Formerly Ran Non-Profit Section

/0 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Fibonacci BlueAs Congressional Democrats scurry for cover in the wake of the growing scandal surrounding IRS harassment of tea party and conservative groups, President Obama announced on Wednesday that acting IRS chief, Steven T. Miller would resign. As with Benghazi and seemingly everything else these days, Obama claims to have known nothing about it. Too much time at the golf course no doubt.

But the dam is bursting on this story. Every day the number of affected groups grows as more and more is uncovered. Today it was revealed for example that the decades-old Leadership Institute was audited in 2011. To defend itself, the institute had to shell out over $50,000 in legal fees. Run by stalwart Reagan friend Morton Blackwell, the LI has an impeccable reputation. Of course the IRS found nothing.

During the recall of Wisconsin governor Scott Walker in 2012, a group called “Verify the Recall” hastily formed to check the 1 million recall petitions turned in at the last minute by union organizers. Working with True the Vote, this organization evaluated every one of those petitions in little more than a month. Other groups, including this writer, publicized their herculean efforts.

The IRS apparently didn’t like this. The North East Tarrant Texas Tea Party (NETTTP) never told the IRS they were working on the recall, yet IRS questioned them about their relationship with VTR. True the Vote’s Catherine Engelbrect said, “There is no explaining this away. It is a reprehensible abuse of power by the IRS to ask one organization for information about the activities of a separate organization while holding their non-profit status hostage.”

Similarly, in 2010, the IRS demanded that an Ohio group, the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law explain in detail its “involvement with the Tea Party.” The Center provides legal counsel to Ohioans whose constitutional rights have been aggrieved, including tea party organizations and individuals. While it ultimately received its tax-exempt status, the Center said that, “IRS harassment of liberty-oriented groups, and intent to root out “tea party” activities, even through non-tea party sources such as 1851, has been in full force for a minimum of three years.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Innis Blasts Media’s ‘Vile, Unfair’ Tea Party Stereotype

/1 Comment/in , /by

Photo Credit: GettyAn activist with a tea party organization tore into the media in attendance at a Capitol Hill news conference Thursday, blaming the media in part for the recent Obama administration scandals because they weren’t tougher on the president.

“I want all of you to ask the question to yourself, what did you do to help create this environment where the IRS, an agent of government, can operate with such impunity?” Niger Innis, the chief strategist of TheTeaParty.net, said during a press conference with lawmakers about the IRS’ targeting of conservative groups.

Innis said today’s political environment is different than during Watergate because “40 years ago the press actually had an adversarial relationship with the chief executive, Dick Nixon.”

Innis, who is also a spokesman for the Congress on Racial Equality and son of legendary civil rights leader Roy Innis, said things have changed since those days.

Read more from this story HERE.

The 16-Year-Old Who Changed Medicine Is Out to Change It Again

/0 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: TEDxNijmegenAt 16 years old, Jack Andraka is already a superstar in the field of science. Earlier this year, he won Intel’s prestigious Gordon E. Moore Award, when he created a groundbreaking testing method that can detect pancreatic cancer in its earliest stages. His work is expected to save thousands of lives.

And in the few short months since then, Andraka has already begun work on his next invention—a handheld device that he hopes will have the ability to scan the human body, read vital signs and detect any disease instantly.

While it sounds straight off the set of Star Trek, Andraka’s tricorder is part of a global science competition started by the XPRIZE foundation. The challenge is to create a mobile device that can diagnose 15 diseases across 30 patients, and at stake is a $10 million prize.

But on this project, Andraka isn’t working alone. He teamed up with two other Intel finalists to create what they call “Generation Z.” So far, they’re the only team made up entirely of kids. Despite being up against other teams like the one from Scanadu—a startup based in the NASA Ames Rsearch Center—Andraka is looking forward to exploring the challenge with kids his own age.

“I really enjoy big challenges and figured that it would be fun to collaborate with a group of teens to work on this prize,” he tells TakePart. “I meet such interesting teens at science competitions, and so we are going to work on this problem together. We may not succeed, but we are going to learn a lot and also learn how to work better in a team on a big project. Hopefully, we will be able to be productive and move the idea forward.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Electrical Brain Boost Can Make You Better at Math

/2 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: ALAMYFor anyone who struggles with dividing the bill at the end of a meal, there is now a way to give your brain a boost.

Scientists have shown they can improve people’s ability to perform mental arithmetic for up to six months by giving them a short course of harmless electrical stimulation on their scalps.

Volunteers who received rapid pulses of electrical current – equivalent to that from an AA battery – for just 20 minutes a day for five days saw their ability to solve calculations improve by 28 per cent.

The enhancement, which made them faster at carrying out sums and other mathematical tasks, lasted for up to six months after receiving the electrical treatment.

The researchers, who are based at the University of Oxford, believe stimulating the brain in this way could be used to help people who struggle with performing mental arithmetic.

Read more from this story HERE.

Justice Department Subpoenas of AP Phone Records Unites Left, Right in Opposition to ‘Big Brother’

/9 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: J. Scott ApplewhiteThe revelation that the U.S. government used secret subpoenas to pry into Associated Press reporters’ phone records triggered two contradictory reactions in the political world.

“What the subpoenas did was remind the left that the right has reasons to fear big government and remind the right and left of the objectives they share politically,” said Joe Miller, the Alaska conservative who was the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate last year.

For conservatives, the phone-records story fortified their fear that, despite the best of intentions, government by its nature will tend to erode the freedom of the individual — and almost always in the name of protecting the collective good.

That conservative fear is one that liberals tend to regard as verging on paranoia.

Yet this latest Justice Department action — an action that for many on the right confirms long-held concerns about big government — is also, paradoxically, bringing conservatives and liberals together. Both ideologies, after all, share an interest in defending the freedom of the individual.

Read more from this story HERE.